The Making of a Therapist: A Practical Guide for the Inner Journey

by Louis Cozolino

The difficulty and cost of training psychotherapists properly is well known. It is far easier to provide a series of classes while ignoring the more challenging personal components of training. Despite the fact that the therapist's self-insight, emotional maturity, and calm centeredness are critical for successful psychotherapy, rote knowledge and technical skills are the focus of most training programs. As a result, the therapist's personal growth is either marginalized or ignored. The Making of a Therapist counters this trend by offering graduate students and beginning therapists a personal account of this important inner journey. Cozolino provides a unique look inside the mind and heart of an experienced therapist. Listeners will find an exciting and privileged window into the experience of the therapist who, like themselves, is just starting out. In addition, The Making of a Therapist contains the practical advice, common-sense wisdom, and self-disclosure that practicing professionals have found to be the most helpful during their own training. The first part of the book, "Getting Through Your First Sessions," takes listeners through the often-perilous days and weeks of conducting initial sessions with real clients. Cozolino addresses such basic concerns Do I need to be completely healthy myself before I can help others? What do I do if someone comes to me with an issue or problem I can't handle? What should I do if I have trouble listening to my clients? What if a client scares me? The second section of the book, "Getting to Know Your Clients," delves into the routine of therapy and the subsequent stages in which you continue to work with clients and help them. In this context, Cozolino presents the notion of the "good enough" therapist, one who can surrender to his or her own imperfections while still guiding the therapeutic relationship to a positive outcome. The final section, "Getting to Know Yourself," goes to the core of the therapist's relation to him- or herself, addressing such issues How to turn your weaknesses into strengths, and how to deal with the complicated issues of pathological caretaking, countertransference, and self-care. Both an excellent introduction to the field as well as a valuable refresher for the experienced clinician, The Making of a Therapist offers listeners the tools and insight that make the journey of becoming a therapist a rich and rewarding experience.

Genres: Psychology, Mental Health

Hardcover

Published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Dove · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely book! So glad that the first book I read for 2024 was this one. As I inch closer to my practicum journey and begin seeing real clients, books like this are sooo helpful. they make me feel less alone. they tell me things that professors are scared to admit, things I can't find in textbooks (he literally has a book chapter titled this!). he explained countertransference in such a simple manner- gave me practical tips for being in touch with my emotions and how I may be negatively impacting the client. Through his beautiful success stories, I also was reminded of my "why" as a therapist- I do believe in people's innate ability to grow and succeed, and it's worth all this tough stuff! So inspiring. I loved the tips he gave for your first session- just get through it. no one is perfect. I will definitely refer back to the chapter where he gave ideas on what to say when you get stuck in therapy. I loved how some chapters focused on yourself as a therapist, the client, and then the therapeutic relationship. He covered so much! I cannot recommend this book enough for young therapists- take a break and reflect on what he's saying, it is so utterly helpful!

[orsi🌷]

I read this for my training as a therapist. Though I have some theoretical orientation differences from the author (that always happens), there were many good reminders that seemed appropriate for early career clinicians and their anxiety about this work.

Especially helpful to read while starting at a new placement site. My grad cohort read 2 chapters per week, and the pacing and progression of topics was nearly a perfect match for the phases students go through at a new site: meeting their clients for the first time, trying to separate their personal feelings from the work or understanding how they make an impact, encountering self-doubt, coping with emotional exhaustion, etc.

A little dated when it comes to cultural humility, self reflexivity and clinical responsibility regarding race, gender, economic status, etc.

[Beatrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was excellent! Everything I hoped it would be. Listened on audiobook, and am going to buy the hard copy too - not something I’ve ever done before! As an early career art therapist this was great guidance even though not from my field specifically. Gave me the sense of structure, grounding, perspective, and integration to make sense of it all, the way a great supervisor can. Plan to read it again and again!

[Rachael · Rating 2 out of 5]

There’s a lot that’s valuable in this book. However, I’ve (sadly) given it two stars because it heavily/unquestioningly makes the point that clients from other cultures are happy to be educators for therapists. This is ethically problematic and in conflict with good practice.

[Sidnee Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The best therapists are fully human and engage in the struggles of life.”

[Chandler Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I READ THIS BOOK FOR CLASS IT WAS COOL. COOLER THAN THE REST OF. MY TEXTBOOKS SO FAR.